I was just guessing at numbers and figures
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart...

Fri, Apr 14th, 2017 -- 09:51 am

Today's Specials:

Hi all! This is a blast on all social media I have that I will be stopping-posting and/or deleting my LiveJournal accounts soon. I'm sorry to have to do this, but I'm no longer comfortable continuing on LiveJournal as a platform.

Here's how I'm dealing with my various accounts:

copperbadge: will remain on LiveJournal but will not have any future updates; any updates that once would have gone here will only be made to copperbadge on Dreamwidth. The LJ version is fully backed-up, including comments, at cblj_backup.

If you have a favorite comment thread bookmarked on LJ, you should check the date on the post, find that date on cblj_backup, and look up the post there to change your bookmark. In the case of an actual post, you can find almost any LJ post at the same date on copperbadge; in the case of fanfic, probably the more stable place to bookmark would be AO3. In addition, you are welcome to come find me under copperbadge at DreamWidth and copperbadge on tumblr.

Anything scheduled to be deleted will be deleted on Sunday, April 30th, to give people time to save things they may want to keep and/or re-find them on DreamWidth.

This past week I have been craving two things: strawberries and tomatoes.

I don’t actually like the flavor of tomatoes, but I know when I’m craving them because I crave the stuff they’re in: ketchup, red sauce, pizza sauce. I don’t mind strawberries, but I don’t actively like them, and never crave them. So I figured I’m deficient in some vitamin or mineral, which would also explain why I’m sleeping all the time.

So I look up strawberries, which are super rich in vitamin C, which okay, fine, vitamin C, great. And then I look up tomatoes, which along with sweet potatoes (also something I’ve been craving) are a rich source of chromium.

And then I scroll down a little and the article I’m reading is like “by the way, chromium deficiency can lead to fatigue. Oh and vitamin C helps you to absorb chromium.”

THANKS BODY, I guess that answers the question of which to address first.

The foods highest in chromium are mussels and oysters, but brazil nuts are cheaper and don’t have internal organs that freak me out, so I guess I’ll find some interesting things to do with brazil nuts. As for the strawberries, well, I haven’t made agua fresca in a while, that’ll be fun.

Whitney has an autoimmune disease whose treatments leave her susceptible to infectiosn; she's been in the hospital twice so far this year, with various issues including meningitis and pneumonia. During her last hospital stay, her home was robbed, and along with the theft of valuables, her children no longer feel safe there; her landlord is also initiating eviction proceedings. You can read more and support a fundraiser to help with bills and rent here.

teaotter linked to a fundraiser for a friend, a disabled trans woman who has just left an abusive situation and is trying to find stable housing; the fundraiser is semi-anonymous to protect her from stalking/harassment, but Teaotter vouches for her; you can read more and help her out here.

vanathema linked to a fundraising request for Valen, who has been unable to work due to disability and upcoming surgery; because of his girlfriend's employment situation (which enforces a yearly two-month "break") they need to get through the next two months with no paycheck. They're also looking for anyone who can help with employment in the Seattle-Kent WA area. You can read more, including a paypal donation address, here.

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They are frequently running out of money for gas to even do odd jobs for pay. You can read more and help out here.

Buy Stuff, Help Out:

magpiesmiscellany has a selection of tree-of-life pendants in various shapes, colors, and sizes for sale, with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Doctors Without Borders, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and the National Immigration Law Center. And Mother's Day is coming up, at least in the US! You can read more and purchase them here.

I’m researching a guy this morning who loves cross-country skiing and says that the best in the midwest is in Michigan, where he owns a bunch of land. I found most of the land, which is up near Traverse City, on the southern side of Lake Michigan, but I also found one parcel way the hell up on the peninsula, on the north side of the Lake.

Here’s where it gets fun: I couldn’t find an address to attach to the parcel, which is super weird to begin with. So I mapped the parcel number, which gave me a map of a state park – with a restaurant right in the middle of the park, where the parcel number is supposedly located.

What the hell, I thought, maybe there’s a restaurant in the state park and he likes it so well as a stopover when he goes skiing that he bought it. He’s a millionaire, these things happen.

But when I googled the restaurant, let’s call it the Goose Neck, I found that it does exist – and is actually located several hours south of the state park, down in the heart of Michigan.

And when you click on the website of the Goose Neck in Google Maps, it takes you to a campsite in Florida.

I’ve managed to glitch the internet like, four times in the past ten minutes, and am beginning to suspect some kind of conspiracy. Is there a secret diner in the middle of a Michigan state park? Is it operated for some nefarious purpose from a front in southern Michigan? And does it connect, via an alien portal device of some kind, to Tallahassee, Florida?

If I disappear from the internet suddenly, begin the search in the Sault Ste. Marie Forest. (And if you find the Goose Neck, try the Stew and Biscuits plate, apparently it’s their specialty.)

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They are frequently running out of money for gas to even do odd jobs for pay. You can read more and help out here.

Buy Stuff, Help Out:

magpiesmiscellany has a selection of tree-of-life pendants in various shapes, colors, and sizes for sale, with proceeds going to Planned Parenthood, Lambda Legal, the ACLU, Doctors Without Borders, Earthjustice, Sierra Club, and the National Immigration Law Center. And Mother's Day is coming up, at least in the US! You can read more and purchase them here.

Housing:

darlingarmadillo's third roommate is moving out to get married and they're seeking a new roommate. THey have a three-bedroom condo with one bedroom available, unfurnished, two cats, in-unit laundry, workout room in the basement, and near to the Noward red line stop in Chicago. You can read more and get in touch here.

A NOTE TO ALL before we begin -- I will be traveling next Monday, and I'm not sure of how much access I will have or when I will have it. Radio Free Monday next week miiiiight be postponed to Tuesday. Thanks everyone!

Ways to Give:

Anon linked to a fundraiser for delaese, who is in the process of divorcing, moving, and setting up a new business, and needs funds to help with all three, as well as care for her animals. You can read more and help out here (and also look at fluffy pictures of baby chicks!).

brainwane linked to Con Or Bust, a nonprofit which helps fans of color get to conventions. They're starting up their annual auction fundraiser and would love to have people offer items to donate; you can read more about donating here. Deadline is April 23 so there's still lots of time!

liviconnor linked to Charity: Water, a charity which helps internatioanl communities get clean water, and one of their fundraising methods is to ask people to get donations for their birthdays instead of presents. The birthday person then gets a thank-you gift of pictures from the community their money went to. You can read more and help out here, and you can also donate to them through CharityMiles, which donates money for every mile you run.

Anon is fundraising for Families For Freedom, a human-rights organization by and for families and their loved ones who are facing deportation. They run a national hotline for those imprisoned in immigrant detention centers, and provide emotional and social support to families going through deportation proceedings, as well as raising community awareness of rights and abuses. You can read more and support FFF here.

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They literally have no money left until their next worker's comp check comes, which means no gas money for their car, so they can't get anywhere to do odd jobs for bill money. You can read more and help out here.

Help For Free:

Since I managed to both put it in the wrong place and lose the link last week like a loser, a repost: kitrona is in her last semester of college before graduation, and for her capstone is researching the hypothesis that social support can ease mental health issues that trans* and nonbinary people face. She has a survey up and would appreciate trans* and nonbinary people participating; the survey doesn't collect any identifying information and she is happy to share the resulting paper with people if they're interested. She's planning to specialize in trans* issues, so this is not simply a class project but a foundation for future work in the field. You can take the survey here and please feel free to pass it on to people who could help contribute!

I saw a book title this morning that I misread as “Sampire” (I think it was a really fancy “Empire”) and I thought, haha, yes I rise before dawn to prey on those still awake from the night before. I am the dark hipster, the sampire.

And then I thought, what would you call a hipster vampire, and it came to me, hot sauce dripping off its fangs:

I had an unusually quiet RFM this week, which sometimes happens, but just in case -- if you submitted an item and don't see it below, please get in touch! I can do a second RFM post if it turns out that like, something ate all of this week's responses or something.

Ways to Give:

Ursula is an aide to a research chemistry professor with physical disabilities who uses a wheelchair. Her professor has been invited to present at a prestigious conference in April, but the University isn't willing to pay for disability accommodations (such as her aide traveling with her). They have a gofundme up to raise funds so that they can both attend; you can read more and support the fundraiser here.

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They literally have no money left until their next worker's comp check comes, which means no gas money for their car, so they can't get anywhere to do odd jobs for bill money. You can read more and help out here.

Help For Free:

kitrona is in her last semester of college before graduation, and for her capstone is researching the hypothesis that social support can ease mental health issues that trans* and nonbinary people face. She has a survey up and would appreciate trans* and nonbinary people participating; the survey doesn't collect any identifying information and she is happy to share the resulting paper with people if they're interested. She's planning to specialize in trans* issues, so this is not simply a class project but a foundation for future work in the field. You can take the survey here and please feel free to pass it on to people who could help contribute!

I’m gonna write an updated comedy of manners about excel spreadsheets and webcomic artists in which Jack Worthington is a data analyst who has invented a fake free-spirited webcomic artist brother so he has an excuse to visit the city; his STEM mentee Cecily lives in the burbs and builds robots but dreams of going to the city to meet Jack’s romantic artist wastrel brother. Meanwhile Jack’s friend Algernon, who is a “startup entrepreneur” with no visible employment, has discovered Jack’s secret life and threatened to tell his girlfriend, hipster social justice activist Gwendolyn, who thinks Jack works for Algy’s startup because that’s way hipper than wrangling Excel spreadsheets all day.

All is upset by Mrs. Bracknell, the imperious baby boomer who can never get the right coffee order or change from Dr. Frederica Chasuble, a barista who has an unmarketable PHD in feminist classical theology and a crush on Cecily’s college admissions coach Ms. Prism. Mrs. Bracknell doesn’t want Jack marrying Gwendolyn because due to a database error at the hospital when he was born, most institutions (banks, cellphone providers, insurance companies) think Jack is deceased.

Skochius's grandmother is disabled with neuropathy in both feet, and has had to undergo several surgeries and treatments recently, including some emergency surgeries. She's currently in danger of losing her house if she (or the family) can't pay the taxes on her property (which were bought in October 2016 at auction), which are accruing interest daily. Her fixed income won't come close to covering it, and the family is raising funds to keep the home. You can read more and help out here.

fled-is-that-music is a high school teacher working on new hands-on learning opportunities in a rural school, and she's raising funds for camera/camcorders to start a journalism department, since there's no district funding. RFM helped to fund their startup drama program a few years ago, which has apparently taken off in a huge way; now you can help do the same for their journalism project. You can read more and help out here.

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They literally have no money left until their next worker's comp check comes, which means no gas money for their car, so they can't get anywhere to do odd jobs for bill money. You can read more and help out here.

Help For Free:

Anon linked to the Troopon program, where you can send coupons to military families living overseas, who can use manufacturers coupons on-base for up to six months after they expire. You can send coupons to a domestic address, and they then ship them overseas. You can read more and find out how to participate here!

I have archived almost all the International Rescue Committee Fundraiser fanfics I did last month. They’re up on AO3!

In addition to archiving them I made the post a “gift” post to anyone whose AO3 handle I could find. If you look at the IRC Fundraising Fics and your fic is there, but you don’t see your name gifted and want to be added, just shoot me an ask or comment with your AO3 handle and I’ll add you! And if you look at the links below and don’t see the fic I did for you, PLEASE let me know so I can find and add it.

The only one that hasn’t been archived is the Rescuing Baby Magneto fic, because I haven’t finished the follow-up and will be posting it independently. STAY TUNED FOR THAT ONE sometime in the next few weeks (hopefully).

Now that most of the farm leagues have their 2017 game schedules finalized, I’ve been building my summer baseball calendar. My stepdad got me a ten-game pass to the Railcats for Christmas, but I’m also within an hour’s train ride of the Cougars, Boomers, and Slammers (sounds like the title of a hip anthropology book about middle-aged white people). So I have a calendar set up to list which games I can get to, and which games I should especially try for. Sadly, it looks like I won’t be seeing the Wingnuts play this year.

All of the teams have “theme nights” meant to draw crowds; there’s almost always a Star Wars Night, a Christmas In July, a Bark At The Park where you can bring your dog, a “Halfway to Halloween” costume night, and interestingly a Princess Night. There are lots of firework nights and a few all-you-can-eat nights and cheap draft beer nights.

But I think my favorite so far is that the Kane County Cougars have a Peanut Free Night. I’m not so allergic to peanuts that I can’t even be around them, but some people are, and peanuts are all the fuck over the place at ball games, particularly non-MLB games. So despite not ever having seen the Cougars play, they have already endeared themselves to me for that. (I can’t actually go to the Peanut Free Night game, but I’ll be cheering for them in spirit.)

If I do it right I can attend every Bark in the Park, two Star Wars, Christmas, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, two all-you-can-eats (one is crawfish, which seems…unwise) and something called Strike Out Stroke Night which I think could have been better named.

And maybe I’ll take out a small loan and go to a Cubs game at some point.

guineapigwithaflamethrower recently had a really terrible day (the anniversary of her father's death) and spilled an entire glass of wine on her laptop, which now needs to be replaced; as a receptionist at a rape-crisis center she's not exactly wealthy. You can read more and donate at her youcaring; also if anyone has a line on a used macbook they'd be willing to sell, you can get in touch via tumblr. (I know her a bit and she's really good people; this is a suck thing to have happen on an already terrible day.)

rionsanura linked to a fundraiser for Tredici Bacci, an italian-cinema-soundtrack inspired band/chamber orchestra. They're trying to get to South By Southwest but will be playing without compensation, so they need travel funding. You can read more and give here; I think $10 for their entire discography in download form is a pretty good deal, having listened to some of their tunes. You can also check out the group on Band Camp here but warning the banner is a little NSFW (butts!).

rilee16 is still struggling to cover medical expenses after two head injuries last year, and hasn't been cleared to return to work, thus can't earn money to cover basic living costs, let alone the bills they've received, including a recent rent increase. They literally have no money left until their next worker's comp check comes, which means no gas money for their car, so they can't get anywhere to do odd jobs for bill money. You can read more and help out here.

Help For Free:

brainwane has a post up calling for volunteers with fluent written English to provide 90-minute online English tutoring sessions between now and April 3rd. This will be helping non-US students applying for (primarily tech) internships who are at a disadvantage because of undeveloped written English skills, who need some kind, nonjudgemental help with their written applications. You can read more and find out how to help here.

I'm relinking this week to She's Running, a new podcast about women running for local, state, and federal office. The podcast interviews women about their inspirations, support systems, and challenges. You can listen to the first episode here or on iTunes -- and remember to rate and review if you do! (I really enjoyed episode one; I haven't listened to episode two yet but I'm looking forward to it.)

Up top, I don’t know why I’m so startled that there’s a Ukulele Magazine, but there IS and it’s GREAT. Thank you for sending me some copies, YMFaery (on Dreamwidth, I’m hoping this crosspost goes through with the proper image.) I took out a bunch of other stuff 'cause you guys can't see the photo anyway (only the first photo of a set crossposts) but you can always scope it at the link!

I woke up this morning, messed around on the internet for a while, and then worked on the Neverending Jacket (it’s just a jacket that is taking me a Long Time to finish) and I hit that point where like…it’s so close to being done that all that’s left are some small fit adjustments and adding some decoration. You know the point, where the project is essentially finished but you gotta go to the store to get some last-minute odds and ends.

So I’m like cool, I’ve been working on this for a few hours, the store’s probably open –

And I look up and it’s 7:30 in the morning.

Apparently I got up at three and just started sewing. Because that’s sane and rational. And hey, I managed to attach two sleeves seam-inwards at 3:30am, which for me is quite the accomplishment.

Anyway I guess I’m going to Jo-Ann’s…when it opens…in an hour…to get buttons and black thread.

So, the doctor last week said I should use a nose spray for two weeks before switching to antibiotics, but I felt like such crap by Saturday evening that I said fuck it and started taking antibiotics. THEY ARE MAGIC.

but now

a) I am realizing how much I let fall by the wayside in the past MONTH, sorry EVERYONE WHO EMAILED ME and anyone who asked me even a slightly detailed question in asks

b) I am back at work and expected to be a competent human being especially since half the team is now out sick (probably my fault). Also one of our newest analysts is very sweet and has imprinted on me just a little – I am her preferred question-answerer, I think – which is fine except for how I gotta know answers and stuff.

And one of the highest-up guys in our company – who I used to smartass around with because I didn’t know he was one of the highest up guys in our company – emailed me today like I NEED. A THING. PLEASE. NOW. HELP. and I, having realized Who Exactly He Is, made tiny mental screams of terror while procuring the thing.

casapazzo linked to a fundraiser for The Lit Bar, an indie bookstore and wine bar that hopes to fill a gap -- that there are no bookstores operating in the Bronx. Noelle Santos has been working on this for two years and is hoping to open the bookstore this year; you can read more and help out here.

Buy Stuff, Help Out:

alyyks is moving from Columbus, OH back to France, but because oil paints are a fire hazard to ship, she is selling her paints to fellow artists for a modest price. You have to be in Columbus or willing to drive there to pick them up, but you can read more and get in touch about them here.

marginaliana linked to the Angry Introverts shirt, for those who are introverted but still angry about what's going on in the US; this is the last week to buy the shirt, with proceeds going to the ACLU.

Activism:

Elaine linked to She's Running, a new podcast about women running for local, state, and federal office. The podcast interviews women about their inspirations, support systems, and challenges. You can listen to the first episode here or on iTunes -- and remember to rate and review if you do!

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.
-- Daniel Burnham

The Egotists' Club is one of the most genial places in London. It is a place to which you may go when you want to tell that odd dream you had last night, or to announce what a good dentist you have discovered. You must not mention golf or fish, however...as Lord Peter Wimsey said when the matter was mooted the other day in the smoking-room, those are things you can talk about anywhere.
-- Dorothy Sayers, The Man With The Copper Fingers

"I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all, I know that just to be alive is a grand thing."
-- Agatha Christie

The line between actually very serious and actually very funny is actually very thin.
-- Anon

All over Hollywood, they are continually advising me 'Oh, you mustn't say that. That will get you in a lot of trouble' when I remark that some picture or writer or director or producer is no good. I don't get it. If he isn't any good, why can't you say so? If more people would mention it, pretty soon it might start having some effect.
-- Humphrey Bogart

"At times one remains faithful to a cause only because its opponents do not cease to be insipid."
-— Friedrich Nietzsche

Abby: Is that a guess, or do you actually know where I'm going with this?
Gibbs: What do you think?
Abby: Well, I don't know. That's why I ask you.
Gibbs: Why don't you just tell me?
Abby: So, you don't know!
Gibbs: I want to make sure you know.
Abby: Hmm.
Gibbs: Hmm.
Abby: We should play poker sometime.
Gibbs: Yeah we should!
-- NCIS 1.14, "The Good Samaritan"

I am as idle as idle can be: one of the causes you have hit on, viz irresolution, the other being made fully aware that my noddle is not capacious enough to retain or comprehend Mathematics. Beetle hunting & such things I grieve to say is my proper sphere.
-- Charles Darwin

The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.
-- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound Of The Baskervilles

Can I read books? Yes. Have I visited every star in the universe? No.
-- Stephen Fry

'I'm sure we can pull together, sir.'
Lord Vetinari raised his eyebrows. 'Oh, I do hope not, I really do hope not. Pulling together is the aim of despotism and tyranny. Free men pull in all kinds of directions.'
-- Terry Pratchett, The Truth

Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.
-- HG Wells

If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion and avoid the people, you might better stay home. You are like a pebble thrown into water; you become wet on the surface, but are never part of the water.
-- James Michener

It always seemed to me that those who claim to know that others are going to hell must already be very familiar with the way to get there.
--Mark Landers

I come in peace, I depart in gratitude.
-- Garrison Keillor

Information is the currency of democracy.
-- Thomas Jefferson

Up to the age of 40, I don't think there was a science-fiction book I hadn't read. I love them because they're a marvelous way — and a safe way, I might add — of saying nasty things about our own society.
-- Sydney Newman

You must believe in it and play it for real. If you don't do that how can you expect anyone else to?
-- Verity Lambert

You need more than a key to get into my ship. You need knowledge.
-- The Doctor

Maintaining integrity as a private detective is difficult; to preserve it for the hundred thousand words of a book would be impossible for me, as it has been for so many others. Nothing corrupts a man so deeply as writing a book; the myriad temptations are overpowering.
-- Rex Stout, The Mother Hunt

Chicago is not the most corrupt American city. It's the most theatrically corrupt.
-- Studs Terkel

I feel good when I am doing it and better than when I am not.
-- John Steinbeck, in response to the question "Why do you write?"

I dunno, this is a really hard job, I gotta come up with five opinions a week.
-- Cheers